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Hogwarts Castle
Hogwarts Castle was the place of education for students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, found in the Scottish Highlands. The building was created in the late 10th century by celebrated witches and wizards, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. The school was an incredible piece of magical architecture with many towers and turrets. It was unplottable and became over time, home to many halls, rooms, corridors, staircases and wings, which may tend to move around and trick students and staff from time to time. Founding In the late 10th century, four witches and wizards observed there was a need for a school of magic to teach young witches and wizards how to become skilled with magic. They each founded their own house and contributed their own character to only only their house but to the entire school. They each had their own idea of the kind of student they wanted to create and hoped by finding the student best suited would help them achieve their goal. Helga Hufflepuff contributed a lot to the school. She "brought people from different walks of life together to help build Hogwarts". Helga created many recipes for food which continued to be served at Hogwarts even a thousand years later. She even made Hogwarts a home for house-elves and Hogwarts became the only place of the time to treat them in a kind manner. Salazar Slytherin only wanted to teach pure-blood students and found objection from the other founders. The founders lived and taught in harmony for many years with the help of the house system, until eventually Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin fell out and Slytherin left the school. There was a legend eventually proven true, that he created a secret chamber in the school with a creature which would one day purge the school of muggle-born students. Many searched for the chamber, which would not be found until 1942 and then 1992. Education Hogwarts was a boarding school which students could attend for up to seven years. Their house became their family, and they would study seven subjects for two years and then added at least another two subjects in their third year for O.W.L. study. Then they pick from the ones they received a pass grade, the subjects they wanted to continue to N.E.W.T. study. Ghosts Hogwarts Castle was a very haunted dwelling, with more ghosts found there than anywhere else in Britain. The living treat them with affection and many were happy to hear them reminisce about the same event time and time again. There were four ghosts, one for each house - Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, Fat Friar and The Grey Lady, who was the daughter of founder Rowena Ravenclaw.Pottermore - Writing by J.K. Rowling - Hogwarts Ghosts There were at least about twenty ghosts in total living at Hogwarts. One named Myrtle Warren never left the room she was killed in. The four house ghosts would talk with students at the Start of Term Feast, and there was a poltergeist named Peeves who would trick people and wreaked havoc, which annoyed even the other ghosts. Structure Layout Entrance Hall There were two ways of finding the entrance to the school. For students in the second year or above, they would follow the path from Hogsmeade Station to the school gates, where they would take carriages until they reached the front gates of the school, with winged boars on either side. They continued by walking until they reach the oak door which leads to the Entrance Hall. For first year students, they would take the steep, narrow path to the Black Lake and take the magical boats over the Black Lake where they reached an underground cavern of rocks and pebbles. They followed the passageway until they reached a path, walked up the stone steps and then arrived at the same oak door. The large Entrance Hall was made of stone, with a very high ceiling, a door which led to an empty chamber off the hall and the pair of double doors which led to the Great Hall. There was a marble staircase leading up to the next floor.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7, The Sorting Hat Great Hall There were four long tables for each house with golden plates and goblets. There were thousands and thousands of candles in mid-air. The ceiling was bewitched with many themes which changed from day to day to match the sky outside. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were seated, named the High Table. The Headteacher was seated in the center of the table on the golden chair. Gryffindor Tower The path from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor Tower was up the marble staircase and through many corridors of hanging portraits, two doorways hidden by sliding panels and hanging tapestries and many staircases until they reached the end of a corridor where the portrait of the Fat Lady hung. When the portrait swung the door open, there was a cosy, round room of armchairs. There were at least two doors, one leading to the girls dormitory and one to the boys dormitory, which was at the top of a spiral staircase. There were five four poster beds for Harry's year, with red velvet curtains. The girls staircase would turn into a slide if anyone else tried to walk up them. The common room had a bulletin board for school notices etc., there was a large fireplace and a window which overlooked part of the school grounds. Staircases There were 142 staircases which ranged in look and layout. There were sweeping, rickety and wide staircases. The marble staircase was in the Great Hall and there were stone staircases. There were ones which would lead to a new place on Friday and ones with a trick step where students needed to jump.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8, The Potions Master Author's Notes Rowling's sketch of the map of the school provides a better picture of the actual layout of the school in Rowling's mind. Hogsmeade Station was to the right of the Black Lake, and the boats found through the nearby trees to the left where the Black Lake was. The other path to the school was around the Black Lake. There were school gates part way through the path, where the carriages were and the path took them around the lake and grounds of Hogwarts, passing by Hogsmeade and arriving at the front gate. Hogsmeade was to the north of the school, and there was the school wall which led from the north-west of the Great Lake and around at least part of the Forbidden Forest to the right of the school. References Category:Magic World Locations